topic Ministry

Innovation and technology analyses. Strategies for research policy

What technologies are developing? How well is Germany's research sector prepared for them? How can new ideas be turned into innovative products and services? How can research support play a supportive role in this area? Innovation and technology analysis seeks to identify areas of socially accepted technological progress and to develop options for relevant political action.

Innovation and technology analysis (ITA) considers technological developments during their early phases, with the aim of identifying their potential opportunities and the areas in which relevant research policy should operate. The resulting areas of action developed through such analysis typically consist of new research support focuses and support of networks that bring together research and industry.

The issues considered by ITA include:

• What new technologies are developing, and how well is the German research sector prepared for them?
• Can new research findings be translated into innovative products and services?
• For a given technology: does society have a need for the technology, and does it accept the technology?
• Who profits from the use of a new technology, and whom does the new technology place at a disadvantage; what disadvantages can be considered reasonable if the technology produces tangible benefits?
• For a given technology, where are the technology's ethical or legal limits?
• What are the reasons why a given sector - such as the health-care sector - should be technologically upgraded?

Innovation and technology analysis produces results in the form of arguments for the design of specific technological developments - for example, in information technology, space technology, environmental protection or transportation. The aim is to identify areas of socially desirable technological progress, to highlight potential for influencing such progress and to outline frameworks for relevant political action.
Innovation and technological analysis should provide orientation for our highly technological society, and should help to promote technology that is in keeping with human and social needs and is environmentally compatible. Relevant systematic analyses should facilitate the early identification of the potential development and applications of new technologies, and they should propose innovative solutions in the light of potential risks and with the aim of preventing such risks. In sum, ITA is a strategic instrument for working with relevant players - from industry, science, policy and society - to identify and analyze the technological potential for innovation and society's real needs for innovation. With its facts, arguments and technology-pathway assessments, ITA is an important instrument for advising policy-makers, as well as a tool that can support industry's strategic decision-making.

Interdisciplinary studies are supported within the ITA framework - for example, studies on nanotechnology, including its medical implications and economic potential. Other studies focus on issues such as biotechnology and information technology.